Challenging Health Economics

Gavin Mooney

Proposes a new paradigm for health economics based on communitarian values and collective decision making

Shifts the discussion away from the economics of health care and looks more closely at the social determinants of health

Challenging Health Economics

Gavin Mooney

Description

This book mounts a critique of current health economics and provides a better way of looking at the economics of health and health care. It argues that health economics has been too dominated by the economics of health care and has largely ignored the impact of poverty, inequality, poor housing, and lack of education on health. It is suggested that some of the structural issues of economies, particularly the individualism of neo liberalism which is becoming more and more pervasive across the globe, need to be addressed in health economics.

The author instead proposes a form of collective decision making through communitarianism, placing value on participation in public life and on institutions, such as health care. It is envisaged this form of decision
making can be used at the local, national or global levels. For the last, this would mean a major revamp of global institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. Examples of the impact of the new paradigm on health policy in general but also more specifically on priority setting and equity are included.

Challenging Health Economics

Gavin Mooney

Table of Contents

Part I - Background and Critique 1. Why a New Paradigm?2. Some Problems in Existing Health Economics3. The Lack of a Comprehensive Paradigm4. The Need for a New Paradigm5. Neo Liberalism and its Impacts on HealthPart II - A New Paradigm 6. Building the Base for the New Paradigm7. Communitarianism8. Communitarian ClaimsPart III - Some Implications of the New Paradigm 9. A Future Health Policy, Nationally and Internationally10. Priority Setting Under the New Paradigm11. Equity Under the New Paradigm12. Some Further Implications for Health Economics and the Economics of Health PolicyPart IV Conclusion 13. Conclusion

Challenging Health Economics

Gavin Mooney

Author Information

Gavin Mooney is Professor of Health Economics at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. He is Director of the Social and Public Health Economics Research Group (SPHERe) and holds visiting positions at Aarhus University, Denmark and the University of Cape Town, South Africa.